


The Date

by the_emerald_rose



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-15 05:52:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4595367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_emerald_rose/pseuds/the_emerald_rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vincent and Cloud go on a date at the Gold Saucer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

The hum of the Gold Saucer was far too loud for Cloud to sleep. Fireworks going off in the middle of the night, people screaming on the rides, the general "scary" atmosphere of the hotel...

It didn't help that Sephiroth was on his mind. Again. Thoughts of what happened in Nibelheim, what Sephiroth was planning at the Temple of the Ancients, thoughts of what possibly could go wrong...

At first, he hadn't even heard the quiet tapping on his door. When he noticed it, he thought it was the polite knock of room service. He grumbled, "Go away."

From the other side, Vincent said, "Oh. Sorry."

"W-wait." Cloud scuffled over to the door and opened it. Indeed, Vincent was standing outside. He... perfectly matched the interior design of the room. Cloud asked, "Can't sleep?"

Vincent shook his head. "Cid snores," he said, "Very. Very. Loudly."

That's right. To save on money, some of them had been shacked up together. Vincent was with Cid, Barret was with Tifa, Yuffie was with Aeris, and Cait and Nanaki had been paired up. You know. Because they're cats.

"I'm sorry," Cloud replied. "I'd offer my room, but I don't have any extra beds." He looked at the decor, then noted the coffin. "There's a coffin?"

Vincent chuckled a bit. As if to humor him, he stepped inside and inspected said coffin. He concluded, "I won't settle for anything less than silk and ebony."

"And this one is?"

"Plywood." Vincent toed it with the point of his boots. "And it's built for maybe a child." Enjoying the silliness of the moment, Vincent tried to get inside. Even with his long legs tucked up to his chest, and his head scrunched in, he couldn't fit.

Cloud laughed. "Get out of there," he said. "I don't want to get charged for damages to the decor."

Vincent obliged, then headed over to the window. "What a lovely view," he said. Cloud looked out as well. It was a view of one of the golden saucers on the tree of the Gold Saucer. There wasn't much else to be seen. "Could stare at it for days."

Next, he inspected the dresser. As he opened it, something laughed at him from inside. Vincent stared unabashed at the robotics inside, then pulled out the complimentary soap and shampoo. He read the label, "Artisan beauty products crafted from the finest lemon and lavender available." He uncapped it, sniffed, then put it back and said, "Well. That's definitely a smell."

Cloud sat down on the bed, watching as Vincent shoved the bottles of soap and shampoo into the mouth of whatever was in the dresser. He chided, "Don't break it, okay? Who knows how much it costs."

"It looks like something I could've made when I was four," Vincent remarked, peering closer. "From materials I could find in the house, maybe worth a hundred gil total."

"But you know they'll charge us like a hundred thousand if we break it."

"Very true, very true." Vincent sighed and stepped away from the dresser. "Maybe some walking could do us both good," he suggested, leaning idly against the wall. Something on the clock barked, like a dog. Vincent looked up and said, "Ten o'clock."

Cloud got up and asked, "What should we do, though?"

Vincent looked at him incredulously, then said, "Gee, Cloud, I have no idea whatsoever. It's not like we're at an amusement park with no closing times for almost anything, or something like that."

"Point taken." Cloud opened up the door, then gestured for Vincent to leave first.

The lobby of the hotel was empty, save the animatronic desk worker. It wasn't pretending to be asleep like some of the other ones did, for comedic effect, but was actually deactivated for the night. There was a sign on the desk that read, "NO VACANCY!"

"Must suck if you've got nowhere else to go," Cloud mused.

"They can take my bed if they want," Vincent replied. "Then they get to deal with chain smokers snoring."

"He can't be that bad." They made their way to the center level of the tower, the inner directory area.

Just as Vincent was about to quip something, a boisterous voice yelled, "It's ENCHANTMENT NIGHT! All attractiosn are free! So bring along someone you wish to enchant, to ENCHANTMENT NIGHT!"

"Well," Vincent said. "That's. Convenient?"

"I guess?" Cloud replied. "This feels cheesier than Tifa's mac and cheese."

"I haven't had that one yet."

"We haven't had nearly enough cheese. She puts in homemade cheddar, and then like five other different cheddars, and then two other kinds of cheese..."

Vincent cleared his throat. "That's um. That's very cheesy."

"And this is cheesier than--hey!" Cloud ran over to the Event Square, then said, "There's gonna be a show here!"

"A play?"

"Yeah!! With live actors and such. Wanna see it?"

Vincent shrugged, and the two of them went inside.


	2. The Prep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent and Cloud get prepped for their first stage appearance ever.

The room was crowded with various people and couples, all chattering idly before the sho--

"CONGRATULATIONS!!"

"Sweet mother Shiva!" Vincent swore, jumping at the sudden noise. Cloud couldn't help but laugh.

"You're our 100th couple of the night!!" the spokesperson said. It looked like their face had been smiling all night, and wasn't about to stop anytime soon.

Vincent stammered in response, still recoiling from the shock. Maybe he was trying to get the things in his head to quiet down. Cloud, meanwhile, asked, "What does that get us?"

Before Vincent could even object, the spokesperson said, "You two get to star in our production this evening!" They gestured to Vincent and said, "He'd look great in a dress!"

Cloud wasn't about to say that he'd actually crossdressed before, but instead asked, "How about it, Vincent?"

At this point, Vincent had buried his face in his good hand, and was whining. This wasn't his sort of thing, definitely, but something compelled him to meekly look up and say, "Sure. Okay. Fine."

Backstage, Cloud was dressed in a puffy purple tunic, and puffy white pants. The stagehands had grumbled about the sudden drop in from the staff, about how they normally didn't have audience members playing in the show, but they'd better go along with it or else they don't get paid. Fortunately, they had colors that matched his usual style. Vincent was in another room, getting hair and makeup done. Cloud almost expected him to look like one of the girls at the Honeybee when they were through with him.

Cloud himself had his hair brushed a bit, but it still stayed spiky despite everyone's best efforts. It really wasn't gel, it was just... how his hair is. He had a bit of makeup applied, but not nearly as much as the first time he had makeup done. That was an experience.

"So," an actor said, sitting next to him, "You're the Great Hero, uhh, what's your name?"

"Cloud."

"Middle name?"

"Alexandros."

"Last name?"

"Strife."

"Right. You're the Great Hero Alfred. And I'm King Stefan. My daughter, your loving boyfriend, has been kidnapped."

"Oh no," Cloud replied, feigning terror.

"So the narrator is gonna say "Just then, the legendary hero, Alfred, appears!" And then you're going to come on stage, right into the spotlight, and face the audience."

"Into the spotlight, face the audience. Gotcha."

"The knight's going to talk to you. He's gonna do, I dunno what Fred does anymore. He keeps changing it up. So then I'm gonna come out, and you have to talk to me next."

"Why you?"

"Fred knows jackall," King Stefan said. He looked behind him and then back at Cloud. "I know what happened, and I can help you on your quest. I mean, you DO wanna save the guy... girl... fuck." King Stefan muttered about how much easier this would've been if they'd been a "normal" couple. Cloud resisted the urge to zap him with some thunder materia.

"So after I talk to you," Cloud interrupted, before the guy could dig his grave any deeper, "What happens next?"

"Well, you gotta talk to the wizard. The wizard's the expert on this sort of thing. Whatever you do, DON'T TALK TO FRED."

"Why not?"

"Fred's terrible at improv."

"Oh."

King Stefan adjusted the crown on his head, then tucked some brown hair deeper into the white wig. He said, "After you talk to the wizard, the Dragon's gonna show up with your boyfriend. Lisa's already coaching him, so don't worry about him."

"Do I get to fight the dragon?"

King Stefan eyed Cloud's muscles, then said, "Just. A tiny punch, if you feel you have to. Lisa weighs like a hundred pounds soaking wet, so please be careful. We've got her rigged to fly if she gets hit, so don't actually HIT her hard."

Cloud nodded. Theatre. "Is that all I need to know?"

King Stefan stroked his chin, then said, "I think that's it. You'll be fine. You look like a great actor. You got this under control."


	3. The Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The actual play.

The narrator was one of the stagehands who had helped Cloud get dressed into his poofy tunic and poofy pants. He said, in the most dramatic voice possible over the loudspeaker, "Long, long ago... An evil shadow appeared over the Kingdom of Galdia... Princess Valentina was just kidnapped by the Evil Dragon King, Valvados. What will become of her?"

Cloud figured they must've found something they could use in Vincent's last name.

"Just then, the Legendary Hero, Alfred, appears!!"

On his cue, the spotlight went up, center stage. Cloud rushed out and stood in it, striking a pose. The crowd cheered and whooped. The rest of the lights came up, and the knight, named Fred, literally twirled in.

In the most unenthusiastic voice ever, Fred said, "Oh......... you must be... the Legendary Hero, Alfred!"

Cloud struck a pose, and said, "Damn straight I am!"

The crowd got a chuckle out of that.

"I know in my soul... Please, please save Princess Valentina! Now, please talk..... to the king!!"

King Stefan twirled out, and stood dramatically at his line. Cloud couldn't even begin to think of how he was supposed to twirl like they did, so instead he ran over. "Sup," Cloud said.

In character, King Stefan was a sad sounding old man. With a lot of ham. Hammier than the hammiest ham steak Cloud had ever seen, in fact. "Ohhhhh, Legendary Hero Alfred!" King Stefan boomed, "You have come to save my beloved Valentina!"

"Yup!" Cloud chirped.

"On the peak of a dangerous mountain dwells the Evil Dragon King, Valvados, who has kidnapped Princess Valentina!"

"Not for long," Cloud quipped. He struck a pose with the flimsy cardboard and foam sword they'd let him use. He'd wished he could've used his real one, but they were against that sort of thing.

King Stefan cleared his throat over the audiences' whooping and hollering. "But... you can't defeat the Evil Dragon King now! Talk to the one who can... help you!"

The King bowed away, and in twirled an awkward, gangly teenager in oversized wizard robes. Cloud ran over and asked, "Wizard, you gotta help me!"

The Wizard was prepared for this. Fred the Knight seemed very deeply wounded. "I... am the great wizard, Vorman!" the Wizard proclaimed. They sounded manly enough, but up close Cloud could see the glue holding the white beard in place. "What do you wish to know?"

"How to defeat the Evil Dragon King!" Cloud replied, practically giddy with excitement. "I'm gonna stab it in the belly!"

The Wizard laughed and said, "Well, good luck! The Dragon's scales are stronger than Adamantine!" The Wizard twirled and said, "No, its one weakness is... true love!"

Cloud nodded, then said, "Right. Gotta wine and dine the dragon, then I get to kill it." The crowd laughed.

The Wizard replied, deadpan, "I highly doubt there's much chemistry between you and Valvados."

**"SHALL WE FIND OUT?!"**

A voice boomed from off stage, and the narrator added, "Oh, no, Legendary Hero Alfred! Look!"

In flew a young lady in a very large green dragon costume. Supported by the wires was a very alarmed looking Vincent. He'd been dressed in a blood red ball gown, with gold jewelry on his good arm and in his hair. To match the gold boots he was still wearing, and the gold arm still attached to him. Having an armless princess just wouldn't do.

Vincent let out a very, very convincing girly scream as the Evil Dragon King landed. It probably had something to do with one of his arms getting caught in the wires that held them.

The Dragon landed, and Vincent was plopped down on the ground. The Dragon boomed, **"I AM THE EVIL DRAGON KING, VALVADOS! I HAVE NOT YET HARMED THE PRINCESS! I HAVE BEEN EXPECTING......... YOU!!"**

"Me?!" Cloud parroted.

**"YES, YOU!!"** The Dragon laughed. There was some sort of microphone in the suit, and it had a distortion effect so it sounded like a scary dragon and not an awkward stagehand.

Vincent squeaked, in his girliest voice possible, "Please help me, Legendary Hero Alfred! You're my only hope!"

King Stefan muttered to himself, "Damn, he's good."

The Dragon laughed again, then said, **"YOUR EFFORTS ARE FUTILE, LEGENDARY HERO ALFRED! I ALREADY KNOW... YOUR NAME!"**

Cloud stared, then said, "Yeah, because she told you."

**"THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT!!"** The Dragon dropped into a ready stance, then roared, **"HERE I COME, LEGENDARY HERO!!!"**

The Wizard said, "Remember, Legendary Hero Alfred! True love's kiss must save the princess!"

Vincent had apparently not heard of this plan, and squeaked, "Wait, what?"

"True love's kiss!" The Wizard repeated. "The only way to save Princess Valentina!"

Vincent's ears were burning red. The makeup they'd put on him mostly obscured the deep blush he was showing. Cloud ran over, and took Vincent's hand in his. He said quietly, "Just on your hand, okay?"

Vincent nodded, and Cloud laid a kiss on the back of Vincent's hand.

The Dragon stared, and King Stefan stared, and Vincent stared, and Fred stared, and the Wizard stared.

"There!" Cloud said, standing triumphant. "True love's kiss!"

The Dragon laughed at that, then said, **"OH, PLEASE! YOU COULDN'T BE MORE CHIVALROUS IF YOU TRIED!!"**

The King agreed, saying, "True love's kiss, Alfred, usually involves faces!"

Vincent swore under his breath, just quiet enough that Cloud could hear it, but no one else could. Cloud blushed, and his blush showed through his makeup. He stammered a bit, then said, "W-well, I can't kiss her if you're right there!"

**"AND YOU EXPECT ME TO MOVE?!"**

"... Yes!" Cloud winded up an over-exaggerated punch, then threw it at the Dragon's belly. It was a light tap. The Dragon roared, then flew off stage on the wires that were holding it. The crowd cheered at his display of "skill".

Vincent slowly got up, and adjusted the gown he was wearing. Something about the stage lights really brought out his eyes, or maybe it was the very dark eyeshadow they'd put him in, with little flecks of blue on the edge of the makeup. His eyes sparkled like polished summon materia, with a sort of dark knowledge hidden behind him. They'd added just a tiny bit of blush to his cheeks, and a very pale pink lip gloss to his lips. They really wanted to emphasize those eyes.

Okay, Cloud thought. Just one kiss. On the lips. Okay. I can do that. And then we can get a beer and play beer pong and arm wrestle and grow out our beards and be MEN and not... well...

It wasn't helping that Vincent was taller. Cloud wrapped his arm around Vincent's waist, and dipped him back a bit for a better angle. Vincent just... went with it, wrapping his good arm around Cloud's shoulder. His eyes fluttered closed, and Cloud pressed his lips against his.

If this had been under any other circumstance, it would've probably been romantic. But instead, there was a crowd whooping to their left, and King Stefan, Fred, and the Wizard applauding behind them.

Off stage, the Dragon roared, screaming, **"NO! IT'S TOO CUTE! IT BURNS! IT BURNS MY HEART AND SOUL! OHHHHH I'M MELTING, I'M MELTING!!"** The empty dragon costume floated onto the stage. **"WHAT A WORLD WHAT A WORLD........."**

The two of them stood up, and Vincent held on to Cloud's hand with his good one. King Stefan declared, "Oh, look! The power of love has conquered all evil!" He twirled and said, "Now, let us return to the castle and celebrate!"

"Do the lovers need their own room, Sire?" the Wizard asked.

Everyone got a bit of a laugh out of that.


	4. The Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent and Cloud go on a ride!

Outside of the theatre, Vincent stood with his arms crossed. They'd had to shake some hands, sign some forms, get some praise from the cast. They were apparently the only funny couple they'd ever worked with, the only one who didn't seem to gawk under the stage lights.

"I hate dresses," Vincent muttered. He was back in his black shirt and pants, with his cloak tightly wrapped around him. "Too long I trip on things. Floofy. Hot. Ugh. And my thighs stick together."

"They don't stick with the leather pants?" Cloud asked. Vincent glared back. "Ah... nevermind."

Vincent sighed and said, "At least I didn't have to wear heels."

"They didn't make you wear heels?" The one time he'd been in a dress, he'd had to learn how to walk in the slums in a pair of stilletos. That was an adventure if there'd ever been one. He couldn't imagine a dress without heels. Well, Aeris pulled it off but.

Vincent shook his head. "They tried to find me a pair, but they couldn't find any that fit my feet."

"Big feet?"

Vincent, surprisingly, didn't glare one bit. "They're proportioned nicely," he said. "But they're proportioned to a six foot tall man. Besides, they wouldn't want me towering over you. That's not the sort of thing they want from princesses."

Cloud chuckled. In three inch heels, Vincent would've been almost a foot taller than Cloud. He couldn't imagine Vincent even walking in them in the first place. At the end of the play, they had Cloud carry Vincent off stage, so they wouldn't have to worry about him walking at all.

"It was fun, though," Cloud said. Everyone thought he was funny, which was fantastic. He turned to Vincent, who was slowly picking off the gold nail polish they'd put on his nails, and asked, "Do you want to go back to your room?"

Vincent shook his head after a bit of thought. He said, "It's... it's only eleven, believe it or not. It's still early."

Cloud looked around the area. Let's see... speed square, not his sort of thing. The arcade wouldn't do for him. He seemed people'd out. Battle square, no...

"Wanna ride the gondola?" Cloud asked, pointing to the round square.

"Would it be just us?" he asked.

"Yeah!"

"... Sure."

They headed over there, and got on for free. Since it's enchantment night and all. The ride operator said something hokey about the enchanting sights of the Gold Saucer, and the enchanting presence of someone you loved. As they got on, Cloud distinctly heard the operator sigh and say, "What a cute couple." He decided not to say anything to Vincent about it.

It was a small gondola, with two benches on either side. The lights were artificial, but meant to resemble low, flickering candle light. Outside were fireworks. Vincent sat on one side, and Cloud on the other.

"This is weird," Vincent mused, looking outside just as some fireworks flew past. "First off that can't be legal. Second off..."

"Second off?" Cloud asked.

Vincent looked across from him, directly into Cloud's eyes, then said, "This is the sort of date I would've taken her on."

Cloud couldn't really find the words to express this feeling. "Oh," he finally managed.

Vincent sighed and rested his head on the back of the seat. "She was into that sort of... weird play type thing. She would've really gotten into it."

"Hey, you got really into it! That scream was so in character."

"I thought my claw had ripped the stage wires, and we were going to fall to our death."

"Oh. ... still, you never would've known, even on stage!"

Vincent smiled at that, keeping his gaze on the ceiling. He said, "She liked... cheesy stuff."

"How cheesy did she like it?"

"As cheesy as Tifa's mac and cheese."

"That's very cheesy." Cloud looked up at the ceiling, then outside as they passed over the peak of the Saucer. The silence was deafening. Not even the sound of the squeaking mechanics or the fireworks reached him. He finally asked, "Is this a date, then?"

Vincent was taken aback. "What?"

"You said this is the sort of date you and she would've gone on." Cloud knew better than to say her name. When he got like this, he was... fragile. "So then... does that mean we're on a date?"

Vincent didn't say anything, for a while. He silently moved to sit on the same side as Cloud, despite the warnings that said the weight should be evenly distributed. He wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulders and said, "I guess."

Cloud turned to face Vincent. Even without the makeup, something about the artificial candle light brought new light to his red eyes. Cloud found himself floundering for words, for thoughts, not sure what to do.

Vincent slowly moved his hand up to Cloud's cheek, and brushed some stray blonde strands away. Cloud could've sworn that his heartbeat was audible a mile away. Vincent asked quietly, "Are you okay?" Cloud nodded in reply, no words coming to his lips. Vincent moved in a little closer, so close that Cloud could practically feel his breath. He asked quieter, "Are you okay with this?" Cloud took a deep breath, then nodded.

Their lips met again, slowly and on their terms. There wasn't any jeering or cheering or applauding, or dragons dying. There was just them, and fireworks outside. Cloud relished the moment, letting one of his hands move to Vincent's hair. Maybe it was the rigorous brushing they'd given it for the play, or that was just how it always was, but it was incredibly soft.

They broke apart, after what felt like eternity. Cloud took a deep breath and said, "Wow."

Vincent smiled, a coy smile. He replied, "Not bad."

Cloud scratched the back of his head and said, "I um... I've never been on a date before."

"Never?" Cloud shook his head. Vincent smiled, his cheeks flushed. "You did great, though. Nine out of ten."

"Just a nine?"

"There hasn't been a big finale yet."

Cloud stopped and thought of the implications. ....... OH... "... do you--"

"Right here?"

Well this is sudden. Cloud was about as red as Vincent's cloak. "Y-yeah?"

Vincent laughed, retreating into himself. He laughed some more and said, "No, no! God no. I was kidding! Kidding, Cloud, kidding." He laughed a bit more, and Cloud couldn't help but feel ridiculous.

Once Vincent stopped laughing, he said, "I've been on a lot of dates before. Not all of them end in a grand finale.

"Ever been on one with a guy?"

"Once," Vincent replied. "It was... awkward."

"How awkward?" Vincent shrugged in reply. "That awkward, huh." Vincent nodded.

They sat there, for a while, watching the fireworks. At first, Cloud thought he'd ruined whatever moment he'd had with Vincent. Until his good hand wrapped around Cloud's left hand. It was just the sort of thing Cloud expected from Vincent. Intimate, but not overly so.

As the ride descended, Vincent said, "I had a great time." Without the makeup on, Cloud could see the faintest of blush on his cheeks.

"Me too," Cloud said. They stepped off the ride, Vincent's good hand in Cloud's hand, a happy, small smile on his lips. Maybe the clerk was right. They'd be a cute couple. Probably. Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight add a chapter 5. maybe.


End file.
